La lógica de la sospecha. Sobre criminalización del uso de drogas, complots y barreras de acceso al sistema de salud

Abstract

Based on the results of the ethnographic research that I carried out in two shantytowns located in the Greater Buenos Aires, in this paper, I exam the criminalization of drug use and its multiples consequences on the bonds between Health Institutions and poor and marginalized drug users. Specifically, I define and characterize what I named “the logic of suspicion”. This logic refers to a diverse set of symbolic practices that include the following: doubt, distrust, suspicion, changes of the meaning of messages from state institutions, difficulties on determine the intentionality of the other people and the construction of theories about annihilation plans. By analyzing drug users experiences, narratives, positions, attitudes and constructions, in this article I interpret the logic of suspicion as a barrier that regulates the gap and types of bonds between drug users and health institutions.